Time for a Change

This weekend has been another ugly episode in Northern Ireland's recent past. Trouble started at a protest called by the Orange Order, at the decision by the Parades Commission not to allow an Orangemen's march to take place in North Belfast on 12 July.

The protest turned to a riot, with some truly shocking scenes, as police, including reinforcements from GB, tried to enforce the ban. Dozens of police were injured. Nigel Dodds MLA was knocked unconscious. Since that day, there have been clashes between protesters and police every night and not just in the Woodvale Road area.

Matt Baggott, the Chief Constable of PSNI, described the Orange Order's call for a protest as reckless. Although they called for "peaceful protest", it seems extremely unlikely they would not have known violence was a highly likely outcome. The Parades Commission did not make their decision by tossing a coin in the air - they knew the risks and warned us of them.

As with the flags protests earlier in the year, the majority, the peace-loving people of Northern Ireland, watch with deep sadness as their country is torn apart and its image is destroyed yet again, with these pictures of violence being shown in the national and international media. How depressing and yet how seemingly inevitable it has become, for the twelfth July celebrations to descend into anarchy and destruction.

We need to take a step back from here. In 1998 all sides of the Northern Ireland political debate made some sacrifices in order to reach a better future. There were difficult decisions made, but there was an understanding that without these compromises, there would be no peace; the stability that this country so badly needed would never come. Now, we need to remember the lessons we learned in the run-up to the Good Friday agreement. There need to be sacrifices made by the Orange Order. Yes, the traditions are important. But if a peaceful twelfth means sacrificing one or two of the marching routes, this must be a price worth paying.

Response to controversial Lisburn City Mayoral Selection

Despite the political progress in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday agreement, unfortunate reminders of the past resurface from time to time.

In the recent selection of Mayor for Lisburn City Council, it was disappointing to see that the main point discussed by our councillors, in essence, was the candidates view on the Northern Ireland border.

We expect the alternative candidate, Cllr Martin, would feel little pride in being considered for Mayor mostly on the basis that he is not a member of the DUP or Sinn Fein! Whilst we hope that councillors can resolve this issue amicably amongst themselves, we would like to offer a few notes of concern.

The first is that most of the pageantry and decoration around Lagan Valley’s towns, especially at this time of year, comes from one side of the community.

Since our retailers depend from trade emanating from the residents in the Republic of Ireland, especially in Sprucefield, surely we want a shared city.

Many residents of Lisburn City Council who live in areas such as Twinbrook and Poleglass feel closer to West Belfast – meaning Lisburn’s retailers lose their trade.

We are in favour of people celebrating their culture peacefully and respectfully. However when added to other recent measures such as renaming Ballymacoss playing fields as the ‘Queen Elizabeth II’ playing fields, huge pageants celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee and the ill-fated attempt to give the Orange Order the Freedom of the City, we have to ask ourselves some serious questions.

Are we doing all we can to make sure that Lisburn is an open and welcoming place for all our citizens? Are we diffusing very real and volatile tensions within our community? Have our councillors been good stewards of our city and worked for the benefit of all our people?

Many loyalists, after the flags protests, expressed disappointment that the people they had elected to represent them had not represented them properly.

Secondly, we are concerned that this Mayoral appointment does not bode well for the proposed merger of Lisburn City and Castlereagh Borough councils. It has already been dubbed a ‘unionist super-council’ by some and indeed it looks likely it will become a DUP held council. Due to the loss of Dunmurry Cross, it looks like a lot of nationalist seats will go too. Will this loss of representation and equilibrium allow the DUP to go ahead virtually unopposed with measures that the public do not support?

When will politics in Lagan Valley join the modern age, leaving single issue disputes behind? The Green Party in Lagan Valley wants to see a truly shared space, where people do not avoid Lisburn due to its reputation. It is time we put our citizens first and supported our local businesses with some positive PR!

Green Party launches online poll on 'civic conversation'

To mark the 15th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, The Green Party in Northern Ireland has launched an online poll to gauge public opinion on the best way for citizens to contribute to the future governance of Northern Ireland.

Green MLA and Party Leader Steven Agnew said: “We want people to have a real and meaningful stake in the future of Northern Ireland.

“We believe the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) is the peoples’ agreement, and as such if it is to be refreshed to made it fit for purpose 15 years after its initial inception, then the public must be included and allowed to practically contribute to its updating and reshaping.

“That is why the Green party in Northern Ireland is calling for a ‘civic conversation’.

“We have just launched an online poll to ask people whether they agree that there needs to be public engagement in the political process.

“This means providing formal structures for citizens to engage, discuss and then contribute their thoughts and opinions regarding the structures of governance in Northern Ireland.

“15 years after the GFA, various changes to the operations of the Northern Ireland Assembly have been or are currently proposed - such as a reduction in the number of MLAs, the introduction of a formal opposition and the removal of community designation.

“Recent events regarding the issue of flags and falling voter numbers clearly indicate that there is an increasing sense of public disengagement with local politics.

“Since our local Executive parties have failed to agree on a way forward, the Green Party believes there is now an opportunity to re-engage our citizens with local politics through the process of ‘civic conversation’.

“This means providing the space and structures for citizens to engage, discuss and then contribute their thoughts and opinions regarding the structures of governance for Northern Ireland.

“The GFA was endorsed by the people through a referendum - the Green Party believes that major changes should only be made to the Agreement with the people's consent.

“I urge people, regardless of their political affiliations, to use this poll, which can be found at http://www.stevenagnew.net/, to let us know if they want to see the setting up of a formal mechanism for a civic conversation.”